Pages

Share This

Monday, December 28, 2015

I am currently reading Ms. Blackwell's newest book in the Haunted Home Renovation Mystery Series. The review will be posted shortly. But today we have a guest post from the author on the research pitfalls she faces.

Of Procrastination and Secret PassagesThe Internet has made it difficult to be a writer.In the olden days (ie, before the Internet), a person might come up with ideas for stories and then sit in her garret and write, while making a list of things to look up, *later*, in the library. And then, no matter how grand the research institution, the available information on any particular topic was limited due to shelf space and the librarian’s astute eye.Not anymore. One of the easiest ways to procrastinate, as a writer, is to tumble into the abyss of the Internet. And I’m not talking about those known time-wasters like social media sites or cute films about cats. In this instance, I’m talking about legitimate research.Case in point: in Give Up the Ghost (#6 in the Haunted Home Renovation series), San Francisco contractor extraordinaire, Mel Turner, stumbles onto secret passages in the Pacific Heights mansion she’s renovating. Do you have any idea how much time a person can spend on the subject “secret passages in old homes”? Try putting the topic into your search engine – but if you’re anything like me, only do so if you have a few days to spend reading and checking out the photographs.There are secret passages used to escape and hide, and others used to spy on and kill people – don’t miss the “Murder Castle”, if you have a strong stomach (click here).There are hidden bookcases (seriously, who among us hasn’t always longed for a secret passage in a bookcase?), trap doors, secret bunkers, smuggling tunnels, and hidden wine cellars (click here.)*Honestly*. How is an author supposed to decide which kind of secret passage to use for her novel? The possibilities are endless. Finally, I turned to the architectural era of the house Mel was working on, built in the late 1800s. Fancy Victorian homes built at that time often had simple “secret” panels that led to narrow interior hallways. Usually these stretched between ballrooms or reception areas and quiet reading rooms or cigar parlors, presumably so the owners of the home (the men, mostly) could slip away from dull gatherings or noisy soirees and enjoy a little peace and quiet.Of course, sometimes the passages were built “to confuse the spirits”, as in the case of the Winchester Mystery House (click here). But that’s a whole different web search, and another full day lost to pictures and articles, plus –in my case – a day trip to San Jose for a visit!How about you – anyone secretly longing to stumble on secret passages every time you visit an old home? Have you ever seen – and dared to walk through—an actual secret passage?If so, I’d love to hear about it. And if not – check out the Winchester Mystery House. They’ve got several! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Subscribe To This Blog

Follow by Email

Support this blog

I do not get money for any review or service I provide, so I have incorporated some ads to help support my efforts. I am including this donation button. If you find my reviews, author interviews & posts, and various extras useful, please consider giving a buck or two. Thank you!

A warm welcome to each and every guest, grab a cup of your favorite hot beverage and join me. This is a new blog for mystery lovers and fellow aspiring authors.

Monday's: musings on the mystery genre and writing craft and occasionally a progress report on the novel I am writing, some author interviews, book giveaways or blog tours depending on what I scare up.

Thursday's: Book review. "The writer reads in order to write." I do have a habit of finding already established series and starting with book one. So maybe you will be introduced to a new series in my reviews of the occasional older book. I recently added a recipe or video on Thursday's as well for added enjoyment.

CrimeSpace Badge

Resort To Murder Mysteries

Nailed: Resort to Murder Mystery II

Julienne is snow bound in the middle of the Rocky Mountains with a killer striking at will.

SPIKED: Resort to Murder III

Julienne must solve the murder of a private investigator found with her business card on his dead body.

Resort to Murder Bundle

Books 1-3 of this exciting cozy mystery series.

The Little Wine Guide

Buy CD

PRIVACY STATEMENT

Your privacy is important to us. To better protect your privacy, we provide this notice explaining our online information practices.

We do not share personal information with third-parties nor do we store information we collect about your visits to this blog for use other than what BLOGGER employs as the platform and host of this blog or STATCOUNTER uses to note visits to this blog and its pages.

Google Adsense and the DoubleClick DART Cookie: Google, as a third party advertisement vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on this site. The use of DART cookies by Google enables them to serve adverts to visitors that are based on their visits to this blog and well as other sites on the internet.

To opt out of DART cookies, you may visit the Google ad and content network privacy policy at the following url http://www.google.com/privacy_ads.html. Tracking of users through the DART cookie mechanisms are subject to Google's own privacy policies.

If you participate in a giveaway and provide your email address for the contest, it is used only for the contest by the owner of this blog. But, the email is open to the public to see and I am not responsible for an other usage due to public display. We are not responsible for the republishing of content found on this blog on other web sites or media without our permission. This privacy policy is subject to change without notice.

Blogged.com

I’m a Colorado gal who loves the mountains and low bug population but hates the snow and cold. I have been a book worm from second grade and my first venture into writing stories was fourth grade.
I love pretty much all mysteries and those with a paranormal angle in particular. I look forward to sharing my adventures in reading with you.